Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art
The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, commonly referred to as MASS MoCA, is a located in , , . It is the largest center for and in the country. MASS MoCA opened with 19 galleries and 100,000 sq ft (9,300 m²) of exhibition space in 1999. In addition to galleries and performing arts spaces. MASS MoCA also rents space to commercial tenants. Along with a large variety of displays, the also hosts film screenings and has seen performances by a variety of musical acts, including , and . MASS MoCA is the home of the Summer Institute, where composers and performers from around the world come to create and perform new music. The festival, started in 2001, includes concerts in galleries — usually twice a day — for three weeks during the summer. Museum location and history The site is a large 19th century building formerly occupied by Sprague Electric Works. The site was formerly listed as a contaminated site. When the factory shut down during the 1980s, the city's economy suffered. In 1999, MASS MoCA opened its doors, and helped revive the city's economy. Designed by the Cambridge architecture firm of Bruner Cott & Assoc, it was awarded highest honors by the and . The building is listed on the . Dispute with Christoph Büchel In May 2007, the museum became embroiled in a legal dispute with Swiss installation artist . The museum had commissioned Mr Büchel to create a massive new installation, "Training Ground for Democracy," The exhibit was to include a rebuilt movie theatre, nine shipping containers, a full size Cape Cod-style house, a mobile home, a bus, and a truck, before the artist abandoned the work after the museum balked at changes the artist made to the planned installation. The museum, who had already invested significantly in the exhibit and had amassed literally tons of materials in its largest gallery, filed a lawsuit to determine what its and the artists rights were in relation to showing or removing the materials. Büchel claimed allowing the public to view it in an unfinished state would misrepresent his work and did not respond to requests by the museum to come and remove the materials. On , , Judge of the , , ruled that there was no distortion inherent in showing an unfinished work as long as it was clearly labelled as such. Judge Ponsor also stated that his opinion would likely not be viewed as setting a precedent. Though the museum was granted permission by the court to open the gallery, it chose not to and the materials were discarded without ever being seen by the public. Sol LeWitt Project In November 2008, the museum will open a landmark exhibition of wall drawings in partnership with . The exhibition, Sol LeWitt: A Wall Drawing Retrospective will occupy 27,000-square-foot (2,500 m²) building located at the center of the campus. Over 90 monumental wall drawings created by the artist from 1968 to 2007 will be on view through 2033. References External links * * Mass MoCA website Category:Museums Category:1999 Category:United States